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Trying to clone my entire C (windows 7) drive to a faster drive on same computer. Issues making it bootable.

Tags:
  • Hard Drives
  • Windows
  • Image
  • Computers
  • Internal HDD
  • Boot Options
  • Clone
  • BIOS
  • Bootable Usb
  • Boot drives
  • Windows 7
  • Troubleshoot
  • Transfer Windows to another Hard Drive
Last response: in Windows 7
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December 5, 2013 3:36:56 AM

So I have been having a hell of a time trying to figure this out, and it is really hard to search for since all of the 'keywords' pick out random stuff not pertaining to the problem...

I have a much faster HDD that I want to use for my main Windows (and possibly Ubuntu later) drive to increase game loading/HDD transfer speeds. I successfully cloned the image over to the other HDD and still have plenty of room left. However when I tried to boot from it, it isn't configured as a bootable drive and will not work. I have looked everywhere and cannot find an answer that works on how to fix this.

I DO NO HAVE MY WINDOWS 7 INSTALL DISC, so I can't do a clean reinstall, which is what I would prefer honestly, and every article/forum I came across said how easy this was but seemed to leave out crucial parts.

So now, I have my cloned image on my other hard drive that I would like to set as my bootable HDD. Can anyone help me solve this issue? It is driving me crazy...

Thanks

More about : clone entire windows drive faster drive computer issues making bootable

December 5, 2013 3:42:21 AM

Are we talking mechanical HDDs or SSD?

And what software did you use to do the cloning process?

Acronis is the only software I've successfully cloned a Win7 HDD with, I am sure there are others but I know Acronis works for mechanical HDDs.
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December 5, 2013 4:02:11 AM

I don't have the key, that is part of the issue. The custom computer 'builder' I had cut corners and installed one of those 1 time use keys that you call into microsoft and get a bunch of long keys for but that can't be reused.

It is a mechanical HDD. Seagate 4GB, sata III. Works perfectly with everything else, I used it as extra storage for the last few weeks since I have been in school and haven't had countless hours to spend on this issue.

The program I used was called Macrium Reflect and came highly recommended as a free cloner/imager, I cloned which is what the guide I was reading said to do...
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December 5, 2013 4:43:08 AM

If I use that, can I clone my main HDD (at minimum ~200-300 GB), and have it be bootable? Do I want to clone the main C drive or make an image? Any of your help and expertise would be a huge benefit to me, I can't take another ~1-2 hour long cloning session for it to just not work again.

Thanks again for all your help!
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Best solution

December 5, 2013 5:06:04 AM

Acronis has a disk cloning utility it will clone your C entire drive to a same size or larger HDD, it will clone your C boot identical to the hdd you boot from, and lock the partitions.

It is a much simpler process for you if the destination HDD is factory setup, or clear of any data, then the cloning process is as close to automatic as you could ask for, since you have data on the destination HDD now, it would be best to wipe the drive first.

Before I go to any long detailed explanations of how to do any of this, I would like to know exactly what you intend to do from this point?

Please do not waste my time and have me write out detailed instructions for nothing.
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December 5, 2013 5:43:58 AM

Thanks for your help. I simply wish to essentially swap my main hard drive. The newer drive is much faster and for gaming, it will be much better. I simply need my current (C) main boot drive to be cloned to the other internal hard drive, and then once I am sure it is working I plan on using my current main drive for backups, and storage.

I hope that makes sense. I basically just want to have my Windows and games on my fastest possible HD, and since I have no CD or key, it seems the only optionis to clone. I can easily wipe the data on the destination drive before starting this task as I assume I can partition it after I am finished.
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a c 264 $ Windows 7
December 5, 2013 5:46:09 AM

Another option is to use Clonezilla (see below). I have used many times to completely clone both HDDs and SSDs, successfully. 4Ryan6 is definitely pointing you in the right direction, BTW.

http://clonezilla.org/downloads.php

Download ISO and burn to CD. Boot from CD. Use the "simple" method and then device to device. Select the source drive, then destination (all previous data on destination drive will be lost). Answer "yes" when asked about boot info being written to destination disk. Then sit back and wait.
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December 5, 2013 5:51:05 AM

Thanks Geek. Have you used both programs I am not new to computers at all but have found out how noobish I am when it comes to BIOS and this type of stuff. Which program is the most straightforward and easy/painless method for someone like me?
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a c 237 $ Windows 7
December 5, 2013 5:54:51 AM

Did you change the boot drive in the bios after cloning? It's easy to over look.
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a c 264 $ Windows 7
December 5, 2013 5:59:42 AM

I have used both Acronis and Clonezilla. I have found Clonezilla to be the easiest (it doesn't work with GPT disks though). I assume your HDD is MBR (as most are). You really don't have to do anything in the BIOS to use Clonezilla.

After the cloning is complete, you power down the system and swap the HDDs (I suggest completely removing the original source HDD for now). Power on and boot as normal. Once you sure all is good with the new primary HDD, you can reformat/re-purpose the original HDD.
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December 5, 2013 6:13:52 AM

I did not know how to change the Boot drive Letter (C) but I was attempting to boot from the second cloned HDD if that is what you meant hawkeye.
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a c 237 $ Windows 7
December 5, 2013 6:18:44 AM

Ed Pom said:
I did not know how to change the Boot drive Letter (C) but I was attempting to boot from the second cloned HDD if that is what you meant hawkeye.


No, I meant you need to boot into your bios and select the new boot drive, otherwise you will need to do as COLGeek said and swap your drives.
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December 5, 2013 6:20:50 AM

Yea i did that. It told me that the drive was not bootable or boot executable or some error message like that. Would that be an error in the cloning or would swapping the HDD's actually fix that?
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a c 237 $ Windows 7
December 5, 2013 6:31:08 AM

How many drives were originally in your computer? Check disk management, and show a pic if possible. I'm thinking the boot loader may be on a different drive than the OS. If this is the case and you don't have a windows install disk, then you won't be able to recreate the boot record onto the cloned disk.
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December 5, 2013 8:48:39 AM

If you need your CD-key. Then use http://www.piriform.com/speccy to get it. Just look under the OS tap.

So put your old HDD in and boot up. Install the software and get the key.
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December 5, 2013 9:58:49 AM

Hawkeye22 said:
How many drives were originally in your computer? Check disk management, and show a pic if possible. I'm thinking the boot loader may be on a different drive than the OS. If this is the case and you don't have a windows install disk, then you won't be able to recreate the boot record onto the cloned disk.


It definitely only had one HDD when it was built. The other HDD wasn't added until later. I can even see in Windows partition that it says the old drive is boot loadable but I can't figure out how to copy or swap that over to the newer HDD.
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a c 237 $ Windows 7
December 5, 2013 10:26:02 AM

Try a different program like the free version of easeus todo backup. You can find it at easeus.com. macrium reflect should also work as I've used both successfully before.
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